Why
are salmon in trouble? - Poor Habitat

A
salmon's world covers thousands of miles. During its four to five-year
life span, an individual salmon can migrate from inland mountain streams
to the Pacific Ocean, using many different habitats in between.

Common threats in streams
include pollution, the destruction of stream-side plants and the lack
of clean, cold water.

Pollution comes in many forms.
Erosion from logging and development washes into streams, covering
salmon eggs and suffocating them. Runoff from city streets, agricultural
land and neighborhoods introduces harmful chemicals into streams, injuring
or killing salmon and other stream inhabitants in the food chain.

Rivers may become slow and
warm when water is withdrawn for farming and other uses, making them
unhealthy for salmon. Sometimes salmon and other fish, such as bull
trout, are stranded in small pools when sections of a river dry up
from too many withdrawals.

The
biggest threat to salmon today is the loss and degradation of habitat.
The problem is compounded by the fact that each life stage of a salmon,
from egg to adult, requires a specific habitat. There are issues and
concerns along each life stage and in each habitat, making salmon recovery
complex, far-reaching and contentious.